Eudaimonia

The pleasure of modern man is getting more and more, and what happens to anyone else doesn’t matter.  But isn’t it better to live simply–without so many luxuries and with fewer worries?  There is no pleasure  in driving yourself until you cannot enjoy what you have.

It takes too much time and energy to keep too many possessions in good order.  The truth of the matter is that the more unnecessary “necessities” you have, the less peace you have; and the less you are possessed by possessions, the more happiness you have.

Don’t get caught in the machines of the world–it is too exacting.  By the time you get what you are seeking your nerves are gone, the heart is damaged, and the bones are aching.

Man’s great need is to find more time to enjoy nature, to simplify his life and his imaginary necessities, to enjoy the true needs of his existence, to learn to know his children and friends better, and most of all, to know himself and the God who made him.

from Inner Peace by Paramahansa Yogananda